Sunday, January 26, 2014

Review: Black Arts

Black Arts (Jane Yellowrock, #7)Black Arts by Faith Hunter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Release Date: January 7, 2014
Publisher: Roc
Author’s Website: http://www.faithhunter.net/wp/#!/welc...
My Source for This Book: Roc
Part of a Series: Yes, Book 7, Jane Yellowrock Series
Series Best Read In Order: Yes
Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy

BLACK ARTS is the seventh book in the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter. You can start here, but probably should begin at the beginning. You'll enjoy it either way, but feel a deeper connection from following the series from the start. I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Molly is missing and Evan has come to find her at Jane's, only Molly never made it to Jane's as planned. Now it is up to Jane to find her before Evan blows a gasket. Again. Besides Molly, Katie has lost two of her girls to an unknown vampire and Jane is tasked to finding them as well. She must hold her own and grow, all while trying to handle Enforcer duties, threats to friends and most importantly, family.

This is book gives a view of Jane's softer side. Maybe she is not just a killer as Beast repeatedly tells her. She is still smart, sexy, and often times ruthless. This installment continues the always present tight pacing and breathtaking action. The incredible action and detail make BLACK ARTS hard to put down. There is just enough romance to entertain. The romance does not detract from the action, it merely supplements the story adding heart break and bittersweet joy. BLACK ARTS adds more depth and history to the story of Jane and Beast allowing Jane to continue to learn and grow, not without pain and harsh lessons.

You will not regret reading this installment or series. Go forth, buy and read!

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Review: Dirty Magic

Dirty Magic (The Prospero's War, #1)Dirty Magic by Jaye Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Release Date: January 21, 2014
Publisher: Orbit
Author’s Website: http://jayewells.com
My Source for This Book: Orbit
Part of a Series: Yes, Book 1, Prospero's War Series
Series Best Read In Order: Unknown, first book in series
Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy

DIRTY MAGIC is the first book in the Prospero's War series by Jaye Wells. I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Living the life of a single mom by raising her younger brother, Kate Prospero is trying to make good on a bad past. A past she has been trying to make up for the last 10 years. She works full-time as a beat cop, paying for private school for her brother to give him a better life. As a police officer, her job is to clean up the Cauldron of its addicts and dirty magic dealers, until one day she is forced to kill in self-defense. Although she saved her own life, this decision will change her destiny.

The first 20 to 25% of the book was a little slow, but I found that I was soon captivated by the dynamics of the stories and characters. I liked that although Kate lives in a world of magic, the story was more about being a cop. The parallels to real life addictions were well drawn and easily identifiable.

I found this book to reminiscent of The Elemental Assassin series as well as Kara Gillian series. If you are a fan of police procedurals and Urban Fantasy, then DIRTY MAGIC is the book for you. I anxiously await the next installment.

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Monday, January 6, 2014

2013 in Review

Although I had read 142 books in 2012, I had set my 2013 goal to 100. Unlike most, I wanted to decrease the amount of reading. I wanted to be more PRESENT in life. The year 2012 was a rough year. I lost my father, a childhood friend and I reached the highest weight of my life. My cholesterol was off the charts and my blood pressure was high, with medication. I had to make a change. I did not want to follow in the footsteps of my childhood friend who dies of a heart attack the was largely due to morbid obesity. I succeeded in changing my eating and exercising habits AND I only read 115 books in 2013. If you want to see all 115, your are welcome to check out my goodreads page. Otherwise, below are only the books I rated 5 stars.

And One Last Thing... by Molly Harper was a re-read. Loved it the first time and the I loved it more the second time. My sister recently went through a bitter divorce, and it closer to home this time around.

My favorite of the Year overall was Written in Red by Anne Bishop.

Check out the rest below:

covertitleauthoravg ratingrating Down_arrowshelvesdate readdate added
White Trash Zombie Apocalypse (White Trash Zombie, #3)
3.97
Jul 21, 2013[edit]
Jan 05, 2013
Remove from my books
Clean Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles #1)
4.36
Dec 28, 2013[edit]
Dec 25, 2013
Quick Fix (In a Fix, #2)
3.97
Sep 16, 2013[edit]
Sep 14, 2013
The Sweet Scent of Blood (Spellcrackers.com, #1)
3.66
Apr 29, 2013[edit]
Apr 28, 2013
Shapeshifted (Edie Spence, #3)
4.02
Jun 08, 2013[edit]
Jan 13, 2013
Fifth Grave Past the Light (Charley Davidson #5)
4.57
Jul 18, 2013[edit]
Sep 23, 2012
Skinwalker (Jane Yellowrock, #1)
3.87
Jan 17, 2013[edit]
Sep 20, 2011
Deadly Forecast (Psychic Eye Mystery, #11)
4.24
Sep 29, 2013[edit]
Jan 13, 2013
Blood Cross (Jane Yellowrock, #2)
4.12
Jan 20, 2013[edit]
Jan 17, 2013
Trail of Dead (Scarlett Bernard, #2)
3.96
Jun 11, 2013[edit]
Mar 17, 2013
The Best Man (Blue Heron #1)
3.98
Sep 08, 2013[edit]
Jan 03, 2013
A Local Habitation (October Daye, #2)
3.89
Mar 27, 2013[edit]
Feb 09, 2013
Graveyard Child (The Black Sun's Daughter, #5)
4.05
May 23, 2013[edit]
Sep 16, 2012
And One Last Thing ...
4.08
Nov 02, 2013[edit]
Aug 23, 2011
Daylighters (The Morganville Vampires, #15)
4.34
Dec 13, 2013[edit]
Sep 30, 2012
Fall of Night (The Morganville Vampires, #14)
4.26
Sep 27, 2013[edit]
Sep 30, 2012
Mercy Blade (Jane Yellowrock, #3)
4.19
Jan 23, 2013[edit]
Jan 20, 2013
Shadowed Threads (Rylee Adamson, #4)
4.27
Aug 11, 2013[edit]
Jul 21, 2013
Late Eclipses (October Daye, #4)
4.30
Mar 31, 2013[edit]
Feb 09, 2013
The Indigo Spell (Bloodlines, #3)
4.49
Feb 18, 2013[edit]
Nov 20, 2011
City of Lost Souls (The Mortal Instruments, #5)
4.31
Aug 22, 2013[edit]
May 14, 2012
The Fiery Heart (Bloodlines, #4)
4.47
Dec 2013[edit]
Nov 20, 2011
Adelaide Upset (Emotional Graves, #2)
4.47
Aug 14, 2013[edit]
Aug 12, 2013
Ashes of Honor (October Daye, #6)
4.44
Apr 06, 2013[edit]
Apr 02, 2013
Chimes at Midnight (October Daye, #7)
4.40
Sep 24, 2013[edit]
Jan 27, 2013
Touch of the Demon (Kara Gillian, #5)
4.17
Jan 10, 2013[edit]
Sep 20, 2011
One Salt Sea (October Daye, #5)
4.35
Apr 02, 2013[edit]
Feb 09, 2013
The Bride Wore Size 12  (Heather Wells #5)
3.84
Oct 07, 2013[edit]
Oct 02, 2013
Written in Red (The Others, #1)
4.41
Mar 17, 2013[edit]
Mar 08, 2013
Deadly Sting (Elemental Assassin, #8)
4.10
Apr 14, 2013[edit]
Jul 01, 2012
Widow’s Web (Elemental Assassin, #7)
4.19
Jan 16, 2013[edit]
Nov 20, 2011
Trapped (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #5)
4.25
Jan 14, 2013[edit]
Dec 07, 2012
Magic Rises (Kate Daniels, #6)
4.56
Aug 05, 2013[edit]
Mar 15, 2012
In a Fix (In a Fix, #1)
3.70
Sep 14, 2013[edit]
Sep 11, 2013
Bitter Blood (The Morganville Vampires, #13)
4.27
Feb 04, 2013[edit]
Mar 03, 2012
Frost Burned (Mercy Thompson, #7)
4.30
Mar 13, 2013[edit]
Mar 05, 2013
Uncorked (A Chrissy McMullen Mystery, #7)
4.29
Dec 15, 2013[edit]
Jan 17, 2012
Ever After (The Hollows, #11)
4.46
Jan 26, 2013[edit]
Dec 16, 2011
Raising Innocence (Rylee Adamson, #3)
4.13
May 21, 2013[edit]
Apr 27, 2013
Biting Bad (Chicagoland Vampires, #8)
4.18
Dec 20, 2013[edit]
Feb 14, 2012
House Rules (Chicagoland Vampires, #7)
4.20
Feb 14, 2013[edit]
Feb 14, 2012
Tricked (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #4)
4.23
Jan 05, 2013[edit]
Dec 07, 2012
Death's Rival (Jane Yellowrock, #5)
4.27
Feb 09, 2013[edit]
Jan 20, 2013